serinas's reviews
331 reviews

Here is the full review, with NO SPOILERS. I'm not a fan of romance, smut, erotica, and everything else similar to it, so I wouldn't have read Seven Days in June a year ago. But I'm constantly trying new genres, and I've heard great things about Tia Williams! I was curious about the hype, and saw several people with a book taste similar to me like it, so I decided this was the romance book I should try.

I honestly fell in love. The writing style was just what I needed in the middle of my exams - the prose was easy and the plot wasn't too complicated. Eva and Shane (Audre, Cece, and almost everyone else) was loveable, and I was rooting so hard for Eva and Shane! 

I can't say what made me love it so much - I think it was a lot of things. I loved Eva, Shane, the romance, the MCs story, the build up... Everything was sooooo good. Seven Days in June made me realize that I MIGHT like some romance books, and that I might need to read more of them...🤭

I rated it 5 stars. I don't have much to say, except that I loved it! I will definitely read A Love Song For Ricki Wilde at some point. 

Here is the full review, with NO SPOILERS.

 I was recommended The Fire Next Time and Giovanni's Room some time ago, and finally found the time to read it. I bought Giovanni's Room this year, but it was quite hard to get my hands on! I had to order it from another country, so I was excited to read it when it finally came. I didn't have the time to read it (was in the middle of exams when I read it!), but I wanted to read it, so I did🤷🏼‍♀️

"And, watching his face, I realized that it meant much to me that I could make his face so bright. I saw that I might be willing to give a great deal not to lose that power."

I loved Go Tell It On the Mountain when I read it, and I still talk about it with my IRL friends. Baldwin's writing just hits the spot, and his stories are so well-written. I had high expectations going in, and wasn't disappointed. Giovanni's Room was another 5 star read to me - truly wonderful.

The way James Baldwin explores sexuality and present the struggles of homosexuality are so well-done, I can't comprehend how he did it! How I wish he wrote more before he passed, his work has felt like a blessing to me. I will definitely read The Fire Next Time when I get my hands on it, as Baldwin might turn into one of my favorite authors of all time.

One of the Boys is an ARC I got from NetGalley,  that is set to release May 15th 2025. I can start off by saying it's a queer book aimed at young adults, and mentions transphobia/homophobia, racism and bullying.

We meet Grace, the main character, who is trans and love American football. She came out a couple weeks ago, and now needs to adjust to her new life as a girl. One of the Boys is mostly a book about friendship, and being a teenager struggling with yourself, but football is also a pretty big part of the book.

I honestly loved it way more than I thought I would. I knew I would like it, but I'm not a sports fan, and thought that my aversion to sports might make the book a little unenjoyable. But it was not a problem at all, and I even learned a lot about the sport!

The queer space is the biggest focus, and Grace herself is trans and lesbian. Her struggles with adjusting to school, sports and her new everyday life are a big part of the book. Finding out who she truly is, and want to be, is tormenting her. 
I think many people will be able to relate to her, even if you're not trans or lesbian yourself. Just being considered a woman who likes more 'manly' things, like sports, might be able to relate to Grace. The struggles with friends and teenager drama is pretty relateable to most folks as well, and this setting is also part of why the book is aimed at young adults (I assume).

I rated it 4.75 stars. The only thing I wish we saw more of was her relationship with her dad. But at the same time - she is a teenager, and will most likely not hang out with her dad that often, which explains why we don't meet him that much. I still think it would elavate the book, and could've worked out in the books' favor. 

Overall, One of the Boys is a great book that I would recommend everyone to read!

This was not for me, simply put.

I read Metamorphosis some time ago, but heard that Letter to His Father was even more personal, so I decided to give it a go. This won't be a traditional review, as I use mostly quotes from the book to show it.

"Dearest Father, Recently you asked me why I maintain that I'm afraid of you. And, as usual, I didn't know how to answer, in part because of my fear of you; and in part because my fear rests on so many details that I couldn't even have discussed half of it. And if now I attempt to give you an answer in writing it will still be far from complete: because I'm still hindered by my fear, and all that flows from it; and because there is far too much my mind to remember and consider."

The start of the letter sums up perfectly what this short book is about, and how complicated family can be. Later on, Kafka writes: 
"And for years I was tormented by the thought that this giant man, my father, could almost without reason come to me in the night, and lift me out of bed, and leave me on the balcony: he was my final court of appeal, and for him I was such a nothing." 
and; 
"And I could never understand why you were insensitive to the sorrow and shame you inflicted on me with your words and judgements - it was as if you didn't sense your own power."

"Your extremely effective and, at least with regard to me, never failing educational talk consisted of: abuse, threats, irony, a mocking laugh and peculiar self-pity."

"But it is true that you barely hit me. Yet the shouting, and your reddening face, and your braces being torn off, and the positioning of the chair back, were almost worse. They were like preparations for a hanging. But a hanged man is dead and all is finished. Yet if he has seen all the preparations, and the noose is before his face, and then he hears about his reprieve - he is left to lament his existence for the rest of his years. And I thought about this many times when in your opinion it was clear that I deserved a beating, but by your mercy I escaped - and I was burdened with guilt. On all sides before you I felt guilty."

I'm honestly at a loss of words. The quotes speaks for themself. We all deserve better.

Here is my review, with my personal opinions. I have waited YEARS for the third (and last) book in the Between Earth and Sky triology, as Fevered Star came out in 2022 and Mirrored Heavens came out this year. I was a huge fan of the first book, and this series is probably my favorite fantasy series of all time. So my expectations were high when I started reading Mirrored Heavens. 

I freaking love Okoa. I love Serapio, Xiala, Iktan, Balam, Naranpa - I somehow love every character. I probably love even more characters to be honest. They are flawed, angry, unsure and happy - and somehow I was rooting for the bad guys. But who's the bad guy? I still don't know. I thinks that's the point as well - both sides did bad things on behalf of their gods.

I'm still kind of confused by the ending - maybe I should've reread the 1st and 2nd book in the series, but it came as a shock to me. I didn't feel like it made sense, at all. The worst part is that I loved the book and was sure that I would rate it 5 stars - but the last 15 pages was.... not it, in my opinion. I'm sure some people will disagree, but I hate this kind of ending. So many books, movies and series have this kind of ending, and I'm honestly over it. And also... the chance of this actually happening? It's zero.

You have sex, what, 3 times, and get pregnant straight away? And have a kid straight away?

? This ending is definitely controversial.

Many of the POVs and their stories felt... rushed?

Naranpa and Okoas'

stories have very unsatisfying endings, and doesn't get explained or redeemed.

They just get killed off, which is a shame, as their POVs added so much more to the story. Serapio and Naranpas fight aren't even 'seen',

which was also an absolute bummer. Many scenes and plots were skipped, probably because of limitations to getting everything in a 3rd book. The skipping wouldn't have been a problem, if it happened less - but it was pretty obvious when it happened, and towards the end it became apperant that these skips happened quite often.

I rated it 4 stars. I loved everything about it - the characters, politics, plot and twists - but the ending was not great. It honestly ruined my overall experience of the book, which is a shame.

I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, and the series is definitely worth the read. I'm just not a fan of this specific ending, but that's 100% a subjective opinion I have.

I wanted to read this banned book when I first heard about it, but didn't have the time to read it. Now I found some time, and I'm so happy I read it. I also want to clarify that Gender Queer isn't banned in Norway, but in several states in the U.S. I did read it in Norwegian, and I don't think much got lost in the translation. 

This is a graphic novel, and a memoir Maia eirself wrote. Maia goes by the pronouns e/em/eir and writes about the journey of finding out ones gender identity. This is obviously a pretty queer book, with themes surrounding sexuality and gender identity. Some of it might be triggering, like the misgendering, so beware of that before reading.

I am drawn to books like this, as I'm queer myself, and I have at times been struggling with my identity. Like who am I, who do I want to be - and does it really matter? Maia asks many of the same questions I once had, and describes eir journey on finding an identity eir felt comfortable with.

I rated it 5 stars. I loved the drawings and style that was used - and the way the memoir was written was to my taste. It was relateable in many ways, and a fun (but hard) read. It definitely made me question some things about myself.

I really enjoyed this, and would recommend it. You don't need to be queer to read it - it might give some insight into what people who don't identify as cis might struggle with. It might also be educational and help anyone who is struggling as well - with their gender or sexuality. 

Just feeling like you aren't alone in your struggles are oftentimes enough - and Gender Queer made me feel less alone.